serial_experiments_lainfandomcom-20200213-history
Layer 5 - Distortion
If you can hear it, it is speaking to you. And if you can see it, then it is yours. People are walking around, crossing streets. Man’s voice: Mankind is a creature that no longer evolves, is it not? Compared to other animals, the cancer rate in man is exceedingly small. One theory says that man is a neoteny, and no longer able to evolve. If this i true, then what an absurd creature man has evolved into. Not knowing what it is that drives them, they keep their bodies merely to satisfy the desires of the flesh. They’re worthless don’t you think? That’s all mankind is. But it is no longer necessary to remain a wretched human being. Mankind has finally created an exit whereby he may escape. Lain is walking with the crowd. She stops and turns to face something that isn’t there. Lain: What do you mean? Man’s voice: The network. The Wired, Lain. Lain: Who are you? Man’s voice: I’m God. Lain is standing still in the moving crowd, looking up. Mika is getting dressed. She’s looking in a mirror, seemingly bored with her own reflection. A boy comes into the room. Boy: Wanna go get something to eat? Mika doesn’t respond. Boy: Hey, aren’t you hungry? Mika picks up her bag and starts walking out. Boy: Hey, wanna go to the pool next time? Mika is sitting on a street corner, looking up at the buildings. Mika: Oh, man… She stands up and starts walking across the street. A car drives wildly through the crossing pedestrians, hitting several. Mika fixes her hair and walks away as the police arrive. A younger Lain is sitting on the floor of her room, talking excitedly to a doll. Her room is empty except for her bed, stuffed animals lining the windowsill above it, her, and the doll, sitting on a chair in front of Lain. Lain: Tell me a story! The doll doesn’t respond. Lain: Cmon, Please? The doll doesn’t respond. Lain: Tell me a story, okay? Doll: What kind of story would you like to hear, Lain? Lain: Let’s see… Something I don’t know about! Doll: There is nothing that you don’t know. I can’t tell you a story that doesn’t exist. You understand, don’t you? Lain stares, confused. Doll: Well, how about this, then? For every event, there is first a prophecy. An event first comes into existence when there is a prophecy. Lain: Who? Who makes the prophecies? Lain is in her room. Navi: Throughout Tokyo today, the VTCZX road traffic information transmission system sent out incorrect information. Especially at congested intersections, traffic signals interfered with the auto-drive program in cars and trucks, sending them out of control. There was a fatality in Shibuya, Tokyo, but the Information Ministry says that the system is already back up, and that such an accident will never happen again. Lain is standing in the crosswalk, staring blankly into the sky. She snaps out of it and starts walking with the crowd. Someone walking by hands her a small packaged napkin. She sees him handing the packages to many others. Mika is walking by and the man hands her a package. A young boy comes up to her. Boy: Excuse me. Mika: Huh? Boy: Uh… Mind if i hit on you? Mika walks off, bumping in to the boy, who spills his soda on her arm. Boy: Oh, shit…Later! Mika: H-Hey! He runs off. Mika: That little creep…Damn it, this is gonna stain… She pulls the napkin out of her pocket. she starts to wipe her sleeve, but sees writing on the napkin. “The other side is overcrowded. The dead will have no place to go.” Mika: W-What the heck is this? She crumples it up and throws it on the ground. Mika: Some kind of bad joke… -- What the hell…? -- What’s she doing? -- Is she crazy? Lain is standing in the crosswalk in the busy street, muttering to herself. Mika looks over and sees her. Mika: Lain? What’s her problem? Mika turns and starts walking away. Above her is an electronic billboard displaying weather forecasts. The picture flickers out and is replaced with one of lain, the camera looking down at her as she looks into the lense. Young Lain is sitting on the floor of her room, staring at a mask on the chair in front of her. Mask: The prophecy is being fulfilled, Lain. Lain: But then it’s not a prophecy... Mask: No, it is a prophecy. History is not merely a linear collection of points that we pass through on a timeline. They are connected by a line. No, perhaps it is more accurate to say that they are made to connect. Lain: By who? Who connects them? Lain is sitting at her desk after school. Arisu: Lain! Arisu, Reika, and Juri are standing outside the room,waving to her. Lain gets up and walks over to them. Reika: What did you do? Juri: I had no idea. I guess you’re pretty good. Arisu: I didn’t know you could pull of a hacky stunt like that already. Lain: What’re you talking about? Reika: Playing innocent again, huh? Lain: I really dont… Arisu: You didn’t do it, Lain? Lain: Do what? Lain is in her room. Navi: The Information Control Bureau of the Information Ministry began investigating yesterday’s information network abnormality, stating that it was very likely a deliberate act. With the network now a lifeline for not only the city, but for society, The picture fades out and is replaced by the same shot of Lain looking up at the camera. Navi: such an act is tantamount to… The sound fades to static, then silence. Reika, Arisu, and Juri are sitting in a mostly empty diner. Arisu: Huh? There it is again. Arisu is looking at her phone. Juri: Again? Reika: Huh? Arisu: Spam. Indiscriminate mail. I’m getting really tired of this. Juri: “Fulfill the prophecy,” right? Is it a declaration of war by some cult group? Arisu: I asked some geeks i met on the Wired about it a while ago. They said it might be the Knights. Juri: Knights? Who’s that? Arisu: Some kind of super-hacker group. Reika: But i thought hackers don’t usually work together. Arisu: True. But maybe this Knights group really isn’t a group at all. They say they have a lot of power in the Wired, and that they do a lot in secret. Juri: So they’re a secret society. Reika: Geez, do they get their kicks out of this stuff? Arisu: I’m not sure why… Juri: Huh? Arisu: But something tells me that they’re not in it for fun or for money. Young Lain is sitting on the floor of her room, looking up at a younger, glowing, floating version of her Mom. Miho: It’s reasonable to see the Wired as an upper layer of the real world. In other words, physical reality is nothing but a hologram. Lain: Mom? Miho: This is because the body-- the activity of the human brain-- is merely a physical phenomenon caused by synapses delivering electrical impulses. Lain: I… Miho: The body exists only to verify one’s own existence. Lain stares at her hands. Lain: Are you… Are you really my mom? Are you? The woman fades away. Lain, Mika, and her parents are eating dinner in silence. Mika: Lain? Lain: Huh? Mika: Didn’t I see you at Shibuya? Lain just stares at her. Mika: Forget it. It’s nothing. Mika is sitting in the middle of a busy intersection, looking down. She looks over at the people standing on the sidewalk, who are looking at her in horror. Suddenly they all fade to swaying black blobs. She is surrounded, and is sitting on a strange symbol. Mika is sitting and shaking at a table in a crowded diner. -- Thank you! -- Hey, don’t you think he’s pretty cute? -- How’d it go with him? --Come on, you can tell us! Mika looks around at her surroundings, confused. She tries to pry the lid off her coffee cup but her hands are shaking so much that it spills. The coffee moves to form the words “Fulfill the prophecy!” Mika stands up. Mika: W-What? What prophecy? The diner is suddenly empty and the tables are spotless. A girl is leaning over a bathroom sink, breathing heavily. Girl: What’s going on? I usually have dinner with my mom and Dad about now… The lights switch off. Girl: Wha-- What’s happening? She hears a stall door creak open. Girl: I-Is someone there? Come on, I know you’re there. The girl walks forward and opens a door. She walks into the stall. The lights click on and the door closes behind her. all along the back of the door are the words “Fulfill the prophecy!” written in blood over and over. Young Lain is sitting on the floor of her room, looking up at a younger, glowing, floating version of her Dad. Lain: Are you my real Dad? Yasuo: It may be that what flows through the Wired isn’t merely electrical information. Lain: Huh? Yasuo: If we assume that it was the development of electricity and phones that brought about the formation of the Wired, then I have to wonder if another world was created at that moment. Lain: Uh… Yasuo: Here in the real world, God exists only as a concept. But in the Wired, there may be a sort of Deus-like embodiment. Lain: God? Yasuo: I don’t know whether or not it should be called a God. but at the very least, I think it has the same kind of power that is written of in myths. Lain: I think I may have talked with God. Yasuo: It’s possible that the Deus of the Wire may already have enough power to affect the real world in some instances. Yes… In the form of prophecy. Lain: Prophecy? Mika runs into the house, breathing heavily. she sits down in front of the door and cries. She sees herself walk out from the living room. Mika is staring at the front door. No one is there. Lain walks up to Mika. Lain: What’s wrong? Mika: It’s nothing. Forget about it. Lain looks over at the door and sees a silver glowing version of Mika, it fades away soon after. Lain walks into her room. It is now entirely taken up by her computer. She stares at her Navi. Lain: Who is it today?